Effect of Ureteral Ligation on Blood Pressure and Renin Content of the Kidneys in Renal Hypertensive Rats

Abstract

The effect of ureteral ligation on the development of hypertension and the characteristic pattern of kidney renin distribution was studied in rats with a constricted left renal artery. Ureteral ligation of the clamped kidney prevented the development of hypertension and the increase in renin content seen after clamping the renal artery alone. Renin in the contralateral kidney fell to a similar but somewhat less marked degree than in rats in which the ureter of the clamped kidney was not ligated. Ureteral ligation of the unclampd kidney did not affect the increase in blood pressure, but the renin content of the clamped kidney, after an initial rise, fell to normal levels within 2 weeks. Renin content in the kidney with a ligated ureter decreased similarly as with uninhibited urinary flow. It is concluded that elevation in renin content of a kidney, the artery of which is clamped, depends on the excretory load imposed on it. No explanation can be given for the absence of hypertension after ureteral ligation of the clamped kidney.